Via DolorosaSome of the most amazing places to visit on Christian Holy Land tours are also the most moving and somber, like Via Dolorosa. Via Dolorosa, or the “way of sorrows” is the road that Jesus took from the place where Pontius Pilate sentenced him all the way to Golgotha. Located in Old Jerusalem, visitors will be able to walk the Via Dolorosa and reflect during their Israel tour about the events leading up to the Crucifixion. The streets are often noisy with vendors and buildings stand tall on either side. Things are pretty much the way they were when Jesus walked this street, which makes the experience all the more meaningful. Jesus walked this street during Passover week, so it would have been far from quiet, though many would have been afraid to look because of the Roman presence around Jesus. This is also where Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the cross (Mark 15:21). As the last path Jesus walked, many Christians come to the Holy City to see it in person. Many of the sacred landmarks come from sacred stories, which eventually became the Stations of the Cross. A total of 14 stations, the first is where Pilate condemned Jesus and forced him to take up the cross in the Praetorium (Mark 15:15). There is a convent over a part of the large fortress, which has ancient flagstones known as the Gabata (John 19:13) or pavement of stone. Beneath this is a gigantic cistern for water that was built by Herod the Great, which may have been used to drink from by the Roman soldiers that taunted Jesus (Matt. 27:27-31).
The Stations of the Cross are marked about 20 ft below the modern road. The Via Dolorosa was repaved by the ancient stones found by the Jerusalem Municipality some years ago. Beyond the Praetorium is the third station where Jesus fell with the cross (this is known as a recurring event and is marked by 2 other stations as well). The fourth station marks where Simon was forced to take up the cross for Jesus. They stations continue to tell the story of Jesus’ journey to the site where he was crucified—Jesus meets Mary, a woman wipes Jesus’ face, Jesus addresses the women in Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-30), the crucifixion and burial (marked by the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher). The Via Dolorosa is truly a site that should be experienced by anyone who takes a trip to Israel.
Luke Chapter 23:26-32
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
(America Israel Travel)
http://www.bible-history.com/subcat.php?id=49

Via Dolorosa in WikipediaThe Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of
Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. The current
route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions.[1] It is today marked by nine
Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century,[1] with the remaining five
stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The route is a place of Christian pilgrimage.
History
The main roads - the cardines (north-south) and decumani (east-west) - in Aelia Capitolina. The Via Dolorosa is the
northern decumanus
The Via Dolorosa is the modern remnant of one of the two main east-west routes (Decumanus Maximus) through Aelia
Capitolina, as built by Hadrian. Standard Roman city design places the main east-west road through the middle of the
city, but the presence of the Temple Mount in the middle of this position required Hadrian's planners to add an extra
east-west road at its north. In addition to the usual central north-south road (cardo), which in Jerusalem headed
straight up the western hill, a second major north-south road was added down the line of the Tyropoeon Valley; these
two cardines converge near the Damascus Gate, close to the Via Dolorosa. If the Via Dolorosa had continued west in a
straight line across the two routes, it would have formed a triangular block too narrow to construct standard
buildings; the decumanus (now the Via Dolorosa) west of the Cardo was constructed south of its eastern portion,
creating the discontinuity in the road still present today.
The first reports of a pilgrimage route corresponding to the Biblical events dates from the Byzantine era; during
that time, a Holy Thursday procession started from the top of the Mount of Olives, stopped in Gethsemane, entered the
Old City at the Lion's Gate, and followed approximately the current route to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre;[2]
however, there were no actual stops during the route along the Via Dolorosa itself.[1] By the 8th century, however,
the route went via the western hill instead; starting at Gethsemene, it continued to the alleged House of Caiaphas on
Mount Zion, then to Hagia Sophia (viewed as the site of the Praetorium), and finally to the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre.[1]
Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem.
During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholics of Jerusalem split into two factions, one controlling the churches on the
western hill, the other the churches on the eastern hill; they each supported the route which took pilgrims past the
churches the faction in question controlled,[1] one arguing that the Roman Governor's mansion (Praetorium) was on
Mount Zion (where they had churches), the other that it was near the Antonia Fortress (where they had churches).
In fourteenth century, Pope Clement VI achieved some consistency in route with the Bull, "Nuper Carissimae,"
establishing the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and charging the friars with "the guidance, instruction, and
care of Latin pilgrims as well as with the guardianship, maintenance, defense and rituals of the Catholic shrines of
the Holy Land."[3] Beginning around 1350, Franciscan friars conducted official tours of the Via Dolorosa, from the
Holy Sepulchre to the House of Pilate—opposite the direction traveled by Christ in Bible.[4] The route was not
reversed until c. 1517 when the Franciscans began to follow the events of Christ’s Passion chronologically-setting
out from the House of Pilate and ending with the crucifixion at Golgotha.[5]
From the onset of Franciscan administration, the development of the Via Dolorosa was intimately linked to devotional
practices in Europe. The Friars Minor were ardent proponents of devotional meditation as a means to access and
understand the Passion. The hours and guides they produced, such as Meditaciones vite Christi (MVC), were widely
circulated in Europe.
Necessarily, such devotional literature expanded on the terse accounts of the Via Dolorosa in the Bible; the period
of time between Christ’s condemnation by Pilate and his resurrection receives no more than one or two lines in all
four gospels. Throughout the fourteenth century, a number of events, marked by stations on the Via Dolorosa, emerged
in devotional literature and on the physical site in Jerusalem.
The first stations to appear in pilgrimage accounts were the Encounter with Simon of Cyrene and the Daughters of
Jerusalem.These were followed by a host of other, more or less ephemeral, stations, such as the House of Veronica,
the House of Simon the Pharisee, the House of the Evil Rich Man Who Would Not Give Alms to the Poor, and the House of
Herod.[6] In his book, The Stations of the Cross, Herbert Thurston notes: "…Whether we look to the sites which,
according to the testimony of travelers, were held in honor in Jerusalem itself, or whether we look to the imitation
pilgrimages which were carved in stone or set down in books for the devotion of the faithful at home, we must
recognize that there was a complete want of any sort of uniformity in the enumeration of the Stations."[7]
This negotiation of stations, between the European imagination and the physical site would continue for the next six
centuries. Only in the 19th century was there general accord on the position of the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth
stations. Ironically, archaeological discoveries in the 20th century now indicate that the early route of the Via
Dolorosa on the Western hill was actually a more realistic path.[8]
The equation of the present Via Dolorosa with the biblical route is based on the assumption that the Praetorium was
adjacent to the Antonia Fortress. However, like Philo, the late-first-century writer Josephus testifies that the
Roman governors stayed in Herod's palace while they were in Jerusalem,[9] carried out their judgements on the
pavement immediately outside it, and had those found guilty flogged there;[10] Josephus indicates that Herod's palace
is on the western hill,[11] and it has recently (2001) been rediscovered under a corner of the Jaffa Gate citadel.
Furthermore, it is now confirmed by archaeology that prior to Hadrian's 2nd-century alterations, the area adjacent to
the Antonia Fortress was a large open-air pool of water[8]
In 2009, Israeli archaeologist Shimon Gibson found the remains of a large paved courtyard south of the Jaffa Gate
between two fortification walls with an outer gate and an inner one leading to a barracks. The courtyard contained a
raised platform of around 2 square metres (22 sq ft). A survey of the ruins of the Praetorium, long thought to be the
Roman barracks, indicated it was no more than a watchtower. These findings together "correspond perfectly" with the
route as described in the Gospels and matched details found in other ancient writings.
The route traced by Gibson begins in a parking lot in the Armenian Quarter, then passes the Ottoman walls of the Old
City next to the Tower of David near the Jaffa Gate before turning towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The new
research also indicates the crucifixion site is around 20 metres (66 ft) from the traditionally accepted site.[12]
[13]
Current Traditional Stations --
The traditional route starts just inside the Lions' Gate (St. Stephen's Gate), at the Umariya Elementary School, near
the location of the former Antonia Fortress, and makes its way westward through the Old City to the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre. The current enumeration is partly based on a circular devotional walk, organised by the Franciscans
in the 14th century; their devotional route, heading east along the Via Dolorosa (the opposite direction to the usual
westward pilgrimage), began and ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also passing through both Gethsemene and
Mount Zion during its course.
Whereas the names of many roads in Jerusalem are translated into English, Hebrew, and Arabic for their signs, the
name Via Dolorosa is used in all three languages.
Trial by Pilate: stations one and two --
The Monastery of the Flagellation --
The first and second stations commemorate the events of Jesus' encounter with Pontius Pilate, the former in memorial
of the biblical account of the trial and Jesus' subsequent scourging,[14] and the latter in memorial of the Ecce Homo
speech, attributed by the Gospel of John to Pilate.[15] On the site are three early 19th-century Roman Catholic
churches, taking their names from these events; the Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross, Church of
the Flagellation, and Church of Ecce Homo; a large area of Roman paving, beneath these structures, was traditionally
regarded as the pavement (Greek: lithostratos) described by the Bible as the location of Pilate's judgment of Jesus.
[16]
However, as mentioned above, scholars are now fairly certain that Pilate carried out his judgements at Herod's Palace
at the southwest side of the city, rather than at this point in the city's northeast corner.[8] Archaeological
studies have confirmed that the Roman pavement, at these two traditional stations, was built by Hadrian as the
flooring of the eastern of two Forums.[8] Prior to Hadrian's changes, the area had been a large open-air pool of
water, the Strouthion Pool mentioned by Josephus;[8] the pool still survives, under vaulting added by Hadrian so that
the Forum could be built over it, and can be accessed from the portion of Roman paving under the Convent of the
Sisters of Zion, and from the Western Wall Tunnel.
Adjacent to the Church of Ecce Homo is an arch, running across the Via Dolorosa; this arch was originally the central
arch of a triple-arched gateway, built by Hadrian as the main entrance to the aforementioned Forum.[8] When later
building works narrowed the Via Dolorosa, the two arches on either side of the central arch became incorporated into
a succession of buildings; on the northern side, the Church of Ecce Homo now preserves the north arch; on the
southern side, in the 16th century the south arch.
The three northern churches were gradually built after the site was partially acquired in 1857 by Marie-Alphonse
Ratisbonne, a Jesuit who intended to use it as a base for proselytism against Judaism.[17] The most recent church of
the three - the Church of the Flagellation - was built during the 1920s; above the high altar, under the central
dome, is a mosaic on a golden ground showing The Crown of Thorns Pierced by Stars, and the church also contains
modern stained-glass windows depicting Christ Scourged at the Pillar, Pilate Washing his Hands, and the Freeing of
Barabbas. The Convent, which includes the Church of Ecce Homo, was the first part of the complex to be built, and
contains the most extensive archaeological remains. Prior to Ratisbonne's purchase, the site had lain in ruins for
many centuries; the Crusaders had previously constructed a set of buildings here, but they were later
abandoned[clarification needed].
The three falls: stations three, seven, and nine --
The exterior of the Polish Catholic Chapel at the third station
Although no such thing is recounted by the canonical Gospels, and no official Christian tenet makes these claims,
popular tradition has it that Jesus stumbled three times during his walk along the route; this belief is currently
manifested in the identification of the three stations at which these falls occurred. The tradition of the three
falls appears to be a faded memory of an earlier belief in The Seven Falls;[18] these were not necessarily literal
falls, but rather depictions of Jesus coincidentally being prostrate, or nearly so, during performance of some other
activity. In the (then) famous late-15th-century depiction of the Seven Falls, by Adam Krafft, there is only one of
the Falls that is actually on the subject of Jesus stumbling under the weight of the cross, the remaining Falls being
either encounters with people on the journey, the crucifixion itself, or the removal of the dead body from the cross.
The ninth station, signified by the black disc on the wall. The alley is parallel to the Via Dolorosa, but some way
to its south
The first fall is represented by the current third station, located at the west end of the eastern fraction of the
Via Dolorosa, adjacent to the 19th-century Polish Catholic Chapel; this chapel was constructed by the Armenian
Catholics, who though ethnically Armenian, are actually based in Poland. The 1947-48 renovations, to the 19th-century
chapel, were carried out with the aid of a large financial grant from the Polish army. The site was previously one of
the city's Turkish baths.
The second fall is represented by the current seventh station, located at a major crossroad junction, adjacent to a
Franciscan chapel, built in 1875. In Hadrian's era, this was the junction of the main cardo (north-south road), with
the decumanus (east-west road) which became the Via Dolorosa; the remains of a tetrapylon, which marked this Roman
junction, can be seen in the lower level of the Franciscan chapel. Prior to the 16th century, this location was the
8th and last station.[1]
The third fall is represented by the current ninth station, which is not actually located on the Via Dolorosa,
instead being located at the entrance to the Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery and the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint
Anthony, which together form the roof structure of the subterranean Chapel of Saint Helena in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre; the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches split in 1959, and prior to that time the monastic buildings
were considered a single Monastery. However, in the early 16th century, the third fall was located at the entrance
courtyard to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and an engraved stone cross signifying this still remains in situ.
Prior to the 15th century, the final station occurred before this point would even have been reached.[1]
[edit]The Encounters
The Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem - empty by night
Four stations commemorate encounters between Jesus and other people, in the city streets; one encounter is mentioned
in all the Synoptic Gospels, one is mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke, and the remaining two encounters only exist
in popular tradition.
With Mary, Jesus' mother: Fourth station --
The New Testament makes no mention of a meeting between Jesus and his mother, during the walk to his crucifixion, but
popular tradition introduces one. The fourth station, the location of a 19th-century Armenian Orthodox oratory,
commemorates the events of this tradition; a lunette, over the entrance to the chapel, references these events by
means of a bas-relief carved by the Polish artist Zieliensky. The oratory, named Our Lady of the Spasm, was built in
1881, but its crypt preserves some archaeological remains from former Byzantine buildings on the site, including a
mosaic floor.
With Simon of Cyrene: Fifth station --
The fifth station refers to the biblical episode in which Simon of Cyrene takes Jesus' cross, and carries it for him.
[19] Although this narrative is included in the three Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not mention Simon of
Cyrene[20] but instead emphasizes the portion of the journey during which Jesus carried the cross himself.[21] The
current traditional site for the station is located at the east end of the western fraction of the Via Dolorosa,
adjacent to the Chapel of Simon of Cyrene, a Franciscan construction built in 1895. An inscription, in the architrave
of one of the Chapel doors, references the Synoptic events.
Prior to the 15th century, this location was instead considered to be the House of the Poor Man, and honoured as the
fifth station for that reason;[22] the name refers to the Lukan tale of Lazarus and Dives,[23] this Lazarus being a
beggar, and Dives being the Latin word for [one who is] Rich. Adjacent to the alleged House of the Poor Man is an
arch over the road; the house on the arch was thought to be the corresponding House of the Rich Man.[22] The houses
in question, however, only date to the Middle Ages,[24] and the narrative of Lazarus and Dives is now widely held to
be a parable.[25][26][27]
[edit]With Veronica: Sixth station
A medieval Roman Catholic legend viewed a specific piece of cloth, known as the Veil of Veronica, as having been
supernaturally imprinted with Jesus' image, by physical contact with Jesus' face. By metathesis of the Latin words
vera icon (meaning true image) into Veronica,[28] it came to be said that the Veil of Veronica had gained its image
when a Saint Veronica encountered Jesus, and wiped the sweat from his face with the cloth; no element of this legend
is present in the bible, although the similar Image of Edessa is mentioned in The Epistles of Jesus Christ and
Abgarus King of Edessa, a late piece of New Testament apocrypha. The Veil of Veronica relates to a pre-Crucifixion
image, and is distinct from the post-Crucifixion Holy Face image, often related to the Shroud of Turin.
The current sixth station of the Via Dolorosa commemorates this legendary encounter between Jesus and Veronica. The
location was identified as the site of the encounter in the 19th century; in 1883, Greek Roman Catholics purchased
the 12th-century ruins at the location, and built the Church of the Holy Face and Saint Veronica on them, claiming
that Veronica had encountered Jesus outside her own house, and that the house had formerly been positioned at this
spot. The church includes some of the remains of the 12th-century buildings which had formerly been on the site,
including arches from the Crusader-built Monastery of Saint Cosmas. The present building is administered by the
Little Sisters of Jesus, and is not generally open to the public.
With Pious Women: Eighth station --
The Eighth station commemorates an episode described by the Gospel of Luke, alone among the canonical gospels, in
which Jesus encounters pious women on his journey, and is able to stop and give a sermon.[29] However, prior to the
15th century the final station in Jesus' walk was believed to occur at a point earlier on the Via Dolorosa, before
this location would have been reached. The present eighth station is adjacent to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of
Saint Charalampus; it is marked by the word Nika (a Greek word meaning Victory) carved into the wall, and an embossed
cross.
Modern re-enactments and processions --
Reenacting the Stations of the Cross in the Via Dolorosa
Each Friday, a Roman Catholic procession walks the Via Dolorosa route, starting out at the monastic complex by the
first station; the procession is organised by the Franciscans of this monastery, who also lead the procession. Acted
re-enactments also regularly take place on the route, ranging from amateur productions with, for example, soldiers
wearing plastic helmets and vivid red polyester wraps, to more professional drama with historically accurate clothing
and props.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Dolorosa